"A refresher on just what you're signing up for!" Wallace beamed. "First, the rules: the tournament has four rounds. You would be entering in the second... provided you still have your Golden Regent. Do you possess it still?"
Valey nodded. "Pretty sure it's just sitting in my room."
"Excellent." Wallace folded his meaty talons. "The formats of the third and fourth rounds will be matters to worry over later. The second round works like this: a small pool of two hundred elites, those who survived round one and were sponsored to enter by a noble house, shall face off against everyone who enters by a Regent, no matter how numerous they may be. Battles happen in a process of elimination, with an indeterminate number of rounds until only fifty-six Regent-bearers remain. Judging by past history, you will be competing for a spot with any between five hundred and a thousand. Do you understand your odds, young Valey? This is what it takes to be number one."
"Cool so far." Valey nodded again. "That's, like, rules, though. And as far as I'm concerned, I just need to win? What about the more important stuff?"
Wallace grinned. "Winning is important, yes, but in the second round, you have some leeway! Only by losing two matches in a row are Regent-bearers knocked out. Win even one, and your standing is reset! Challengers from the first round cannot be eliminated except in special circumstances. Instead, their wins and losses in the second round act to sort them by competence, and to give you more and more powerful opponents as you compete for spots in round three. The odds of avoiding Morena, Diego and myself entirely are very low, young Valey. You will have to be very prepared."
Valey frowned. "Yeah, I get that. I'm more worried about stuff like... being in the public spotlight drawing attention I really don't want on my friends."
"Oh." Wallace looked pained. "That happens too, but usually only in the third and fourth rounds, provided you don't go out of your way to make enemies. Unfortunately, the tournament does encourage that sort of behavior..."
"Yeah. That could be the deal-breaker."
For a moment, the table was silent. Eventually, Wallace sighed and set his talons on the table. "When first we met," he began, "and you enquired about this tournament to me, I warned it would require from you one hundred and ten percent. How does it work, for someone to give more than their all? Simple... They must give what doesn't belong to them as well. It isn't an effort to make or a risk to run alone, young Valey. Do you know what you are fighting for? In this time, have you chosen your cause and ensured it is something you won't hold back in the face of? Something worthy of more than everything you have?"
Valey glanced at Shinespark, then Maple, and swallowed. "I, uhh... might need to talk to my friends in private about that. When's the point of no return?"
Wallace beamed. "There isn't one! At any moment, you may withdraw from the tournament and walk away, even in the heat of the final match with your opponent defeated and awaiting the finishing blow... though that hasn't ever happened. Should you find yourself feeling more heat than you can bear, you can always take your dignity and leave. And the pressure will certainly be weak on starting out and grow the further in you venture."
Valey took a deep breath. "That's cool. So if I needed a while to make up my mind, I could just hang out in the early fights for a bit and kind of blend in with the thousands of other dudes, right? Probably not get too much heat for that? That would be cool?"
"You'll have to make up your mind quickly, young Valey." Wallace shook his head. "Without conviction, you will most certainly be defeated by someone with it. Even in the second round, you will be faced with the top sixth of all houses' chosen warriors! And... there is one other thing. Do you remember my explanation on Golden Regents and their precise meaning long ago?"
"...Nope." Valey squinted, then shook her head. "Honestly, I haven't even looked at mine in basically forever. Something to do with sphinxes?"
Starlight frowned. "Didn't you once say something about them being used to buy souls?"
Everyone blinked. "Your memory is astute," Wallace remarked.
At that, the others blinked harder. "Do I remember this...?" Maple murmured, eyes slowly widening.
"Yeah, that sounds spooky. Refresher, please," Valey requested, food finished and set aside.
Wallace cleared his throat. "The intent of these items is to hold an equivalent value to a person's soul. It's a kind of value many believe mortals were never meant to hold in their hooves, yet they exist nonetheless. Some say it is Garsheeva's way of amusing herself watching our handling of fragments of her divine right. All philosophy aside, they have clear uses governing how they must be used in the tournament! First of all: they must be used. Entering using a regent and not having spent it prior to the end of the third round earns you automatic disqualification. There's also no limit on how many you can use, provided you have them, regardless of how you enter. Merely the requirement that for a second-round entry, one must be used."
"Uh huh." Valey nodded. "Following so far."
"Their uses." Wallace drummed a talon. "In the second wave, fighters are usually safe, and only have their placements affected by winning or losing. However, upon winning, you can use your regent to disqualify them from the tournament instead. This not only prevents you from ever facing them in a rematch in later waves, but increases your odds of reaching round three, since for each first-round fighter defeated, there is one more slot for a Regent-bearer to seize!" His voice darkened. "It's also a good way of making enemies. While you are known to hold one, your foes will honor you and respect you. Whomever you use it against will not be pleased."
"Cool not cool." Valey nodded again. "How else do I get rid of them?"
"You may use one in the third round!" Wallace grinned. "Should you defeat an opponent and wish to see their challenge live, you can spend your regent to prevent them from being removed, sending them to a different bracket and allowing them to continue from there. It is important to note: this confers no advantage upon you whatsoever. You must still defeat the same number and strength of opponents to reach the top, and if you intend to take first, you will have to take it from them anyway. It would be a false hope for them at best, since if you truly wanted them to win, you would surrender! Is it a kindness and a mercy, made with no benefit to yourself, giving a foe another chance? Or is it an act of foolishness and cruelty, prolonging their struggle when you intend to end it anyway? That is for you to decide, young Valey."
"...Bananas." Valey bit her tongue. "Well, yeah, that makes sense. You're kinda wordy though, Bathtub. Basically the important stuff is I can use it in round two to make enemies and in round three to make friends, right?"
Wallace winked. "You catch on quickly! I wish you determination and perseverance in your endeavors, young Valey. And luck and courage to all your friends as well."
"Yeah... thanks." Valey stood up, surveying the table and then her friends... Shinespark especially. Shinespark wasn't looking so good, and she had a very good idea why. She glanced to Gerardo. "Hey, uhh... Birdo?"
Gerardo blinked, breaking his polite silence. "Hmmm?"
"You wanna, like, go hang out with Wallace, or something? And Slipstream? And Ironflanks and Starlight too?" She tilted her head. "I've, uh, got some stuff to do. And Sparky, come on. I need to talk to you."
Shinespark nodded, slowly getting to her hooves as well, looking decidedly in a stupor. "Yeah, come on." Valey grinned, nudging her shoulder. "Let's get back to the boat. Got some stuff I kind of need to borrow your ear on..."